‘If Yashasvi Survives First 45 Minutes…’: India Legend Warns South Africa Ahead of Day 3 | Cricket News

Yashasvi Jaiswal (Picture credit: AFP)

The Guwahati track, jokingly described by Kuldeep Yadav as a ‘road’, allowed South Africa to bat for almost two days and pile up 489 runs. Surprisingly, the tail-enders flourished with Senuran Muthusamy getting his maiden Test hundred and Marco Jansen missing his. Now the focus shifts on India’s batting. On Sunday, India walked back at stumps at 9 for no loss in 6.1 overs, still 480 runs behind and under pressure to respond strongly to level the series.

Former India captain and legendary spinner Anil Kumble weighed in on the conditions, opining that the pitch will likely start to break up and bring spin into play. Speaking on JioStar, Kumble insisted India must bat long over the next two days to stay alive.

“I certainly expect a little more wear and tear, and I’m sure the spinners will come into play tomorrow. That said, it will still be a good surface to bat on—runs won’t be hard to come by,” Kumble said.

“The South African batters showed today that you can play your shots, and Marco Jansen proved that by taking the aggressive route. For India, this is a must-win Test. They’ve had six tough sessions, and they’ll be thinking about how they can bat through the next two days. If India can control the third and fourth day, they’ll put themselves in a position to think about the second innings,” he added.

Since India are yet to lose a wicket, Kumble suggested that Yashasvi Jaiswal should approach his innings, especially against Marco Jansen’s early bounce and pace.

“Yashasvi will have a role, but not necessarily right at the start. He needs to settle in, get used to the conditions, and adjust to the pace of the pitch. It’ll be on the slower side, not as bouncy or uneven as Kolkata—so the ball should come on nicely. Marco Jansen will get extra bounce because of his height—we saw that with KL Rahul, who was hit on the glove first ball,” Kumble said.

“If Yashasvi can get through the first 30–45 minutes and negotiate Jansen’s early spell, we’ll see the dominant version of Jaiswal we know. He’ll certainly look to take on the spinners, especially the two left-arm options,” he added.